BellaOnline Forums Home and Garden Birds Advise for new bird owner

Hello out there, My dog brought me a Parakeet a few weeks ago, seems odd but he did. It's made it this long so i figure i need more info on Parakeets. Can anyone send me a link to a site where i can get info on them like proper food, toys, general health, how to tell if its male or female. Any help would sure be nice.

HA! - Welcome to birds being brought into your life without warning. I was a lifeguard back in my high school days, and the only life I ever saved was that of a blue Parakeet that I found flopping around in the pool after a storm.

Most of what you need can be bought from most good pet stores (such as Petsmart and Petco), and if you just type "parakeets" into your web browser and you will have a wealth of information available to you. Here are some links for online info and shopping... Have fun! *S*

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LOL - you'll have to tell us more about this dog of yours too. Also, since this was a few weeks ago, please tell us what you have been feeding the bird since then.

As far as male or female, you look at the cere (thats the part just above the beak, where the nostrils are). If the cere is blue, you have a male & if its brown or white, you have a female.

I'm assuming that by saying parakeet, you are referring to the Budgie, since there are dozens of different types of parakeets. The Budgie is the only one that you can tell the sex by looking at the cere.

Thank you for the replys, Buddy Boy dosn't know he's a dog, he's 1/2 min. queenlands, and 1/2 min. lab. and looks it, right down the center of his nose. He goes everywhere i go. He's 6 now and a friend. As for the bird, I have a nice cage, and have been feeding it parakeet food, Wildbird seed and honey bars. Fresh water every day or so. Clean the cage every week.

Parakeet food is fine, but I would cut out the wildbird seed. Seeds bagged for wild birds often aren't as clean as we would like the food for our pets to be. Along with the parakeet seed, I would add small amounts of fruits and vegetables and maybe see if you can find a pellet crumble to add as well. If he is used to eating only seeds, it might be difficult to convince him to try something else, but its worth the effort to get a more balanced food into him. The honey bar is more of a treat & should not be offered all the time.

Farout, thanks for the info, Its a male so its name "Buddys Blue Bird" suits him. I'v been taking his cage out side when its not to hot. He seems ok with it, is that going to bother him? I'v Been reading what i can find online. I need to get him some toys.

I'll bet he enjoying being outside, so that is fine, as long as you are near to make sure that nothing can happen to him.

Toys are certainly necessary for him to play with and I've got a couple of articles on how to make some simple ones yourself.

http://bellaonline.com/articles/art8778.asp - bead toy
or
http://bellaonline.com/articles/art6814.asp - BOING

Thank you for the "toys" links, I'll start on some tonight, I'm thinking that all natural materials, cotton string, wood beads, ect. are best for the birds safety. I hang the bird cage from a secure hook on my front porch. I'm sure its safe. I had a mirror in his cage but removed it becouse Blue-bird sounded real upset over the "other bird". Is this normal? Again, thanks for the advice, seems odd requesting advice, I'm long time member of msn, opera and yahoo help, more used to providing the help, advice and links. Let me know if i'm pestering you or can assist you or site in any way.

It would surprise me that he was upset about the bird in the mirror, since budgies are flock birds and are seldom alone. They really enjoy company. They usually do bang against it but its more in play. They also chirp & bob their head while playing with the mirror. Of course, your Blue-bird could be different too. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

And no - you're not pestering anyone. We're here to answer questions & help out as much as you need.